The Lurchers Of Yesteryear Were They As Good As Made Out In Comparison To Today's Modern Running Dog

[low plains drifter 10,579]

 

 

The dogs of old were expected to do a bit of every thing not like a lot of the one trick ponies of today

The one trick ponies of today what exactly are they ?, i've never known a running dog of any breeding that did'nt show an interest in working a variety of quarry given the opportunity

yes most running dogs show intrest.But is that enough some excel at coursing some at lamping exc.When we were young there was only space for one running dog.It was expected to take rabbit hare and feather exc And do the job when out with the terriers Today a lot of lurcher lads keep diferent lurchers for different jobs.

Well i dont know what other lads do with their dogs, as i drift around the windy land with nobody but my young coursing bitch most of the time, and she will happily take a hedgerow pheasant or track a covey, aswell as the other jobs, she's not too keen on the start/stop rabbit lamping type of running as having a proper stretch of her legs, but she's no slouch either, could'nt imagine having different dogs for each job, surely all lurchers should be versatile

[MR RABBIT 715]

In 80s they go on about golden years but I've never seen a bunch like that since alot off idiots breeding then more than there is now...90s I would say they put more thoughts into breeding dogs...and overall seemed better

Edited January 20, 2016 by MR RABBIT

[dytkos 17,801]

There's certainly more "science" in it now than there was a generation or two ago but it was a lot easier to get gear in front of your dog back along.

 

 

Cheers, D.

[tatsblisters 9,843]

The bench mark for our lurchers years ago was to consistantly catch hares on not the easyist of land those dogs that could also exelled on the lamp.IMHO the rise of showing and raceing avents and commercial mass breeders have had a negative impact on todays lurchers compaired to the dogs of yester year in some cases.

[boyo 1,398]

I think this like the Ali v Tyson scenario?? It was certainly hell of a lot easier to get on ground back then we used to go upto Scotland & just walk the moors/hills etc putting up rabbits & hares & no one that bothered got asked once or twice to move on by keepers but no hassle. Years ago there wasnt the communication systems we have now with mobiles Internet etc also there wasnt all the fuss/ choice of differant foods we have today ie would the dogs of yesteryear of run even better on todays food ?? So many variables!! Saw some good dogs in the eighties seen some good dogs now Atb

[bird 9,927]

I think this like the Ali v Tyson scenario?? It was certainly hell of a lot easier to get on ground back then we used to go upto Scotland & just walk the moors/hills etc putting up rabbits & hares & no one that bothered got asked once or twice to move on by keepers but no hassle. Years ago there wasnt the communication systems we have now with mobiles Internet etc also there wasnt all the fuss/ choice of differant foods we have today ie would the dogs of yesteryear of run even better on todays food ?? So many variables!! Saw some good dogs in the eighties seen some good dogs now Atb

spot on with the agro today trying to run a lurcher day+ night , deff different 30 years ago. bloody hell I walked back to my house with rabbits or hare over me shoulder by a man road, not once stopped in them days by anybody , ok you might get few keepers clock you by the road lol.But today put your lamp on and seems like every keeper,farmer,cops start to appear the game deff harder . regards lurchers there always been good+ crap about now and back then , but I am very happy with my young dog Buck he deff ticking all the boxes for me, hope he keeps it up

[fordson 33]

all these super dogs you here about from years ago get better as the years pass,its like fishermen telliig you the size of the fish they caught.

[squab 2,875]

not sure they was any better or if i just dont expect as much from them as i get older,cant work them like you did in the past so guess lot of average types now please their owner more than they ever did.................maybe

[nans pat 2,575]

there were no promotional teams behind the dogs yrs ago,

some of the dogs now being promoted for stud fees and pups have polluted the gene pool for yrs to come imo.

[FUJI 17,327]

Not all dog owners use the net, and even ones that do don't always big up there dogs. Best dogs iv ever seen belonged to guys on this site that very few folk know of because they don't post or big up there own dogs. Its a given that there are a lot of arse holes in game now, but didn't most books and things tell you to stamp on a dogs back feet to stop em jumping up? And feed ferrets bread and milk? Well that just shows that even back in the good old days there was dumb fcukers aswell

Which books matey? I've never heard either of those before lol

[low plains drifter 10,579]

I remember reading somewhere about standing on a dogs hind feet whenever they tried to jump up, but cannot remember if it was in a book, or in that moody paper lol

[morton 5,368]

If i wanted a decent and honest bred lurcher in the early ,s it was easy enough to find one,now its far more difficult to source the same.There was plenty of chancers and ego,s about then and the dross they peddled.

With the advent of the Internet this state of affairs is far more prevalent,its unbelievable the nuggets about now that are in the hunting game and care little for hunting,the same ego,s and chancers have a less hunting educated and more easily duped audience,because of the Internet,the dross bred now soon finds an home,years ago this would never have happened,to the same degree.

In reality the majority of modern bred lurchers are a pale shadow of many a mutt bred only a few decades ago,apart from the Saluki hybrids perhaps.

You only need to see the price tag of the average litter now to see the reason behind the breeding,not all.Breeding a litter and wanting them to go to hunting kennels,gratis,was commonplace years ago,its far less frequent now.There is far less honesty in hunting now and the dogs that thrive with that type of ownership,again it was far from Nirvana years ago,but we were closer to it then.

[jeemes 4,484]

An old boy round corner in his 70s told my missus he read in a book years ago lol mh point is tho that fools weren't invented with the internet lol and neither were shit dog men, terriers were doubled and trebled up years ago, and Lurchers were asked to kill odd bit here and there for pot. Greyhounds, horses, pigeons and chickens and everything are better thes days, or atleast the good ones among them are, I not saying there ain't more shit thes days, there may be. Today's best is better than yesteryears best tho. Or what's point in line breeding, inbreeding, or trying to keep a line??

Good point and I agree apart from possibly greyhounds,although they are undoubtedly faster I dont think they are as sound or sturdy because everything is sacrificed for speed.

[low plains drifter 10,579]

If i wanted a decent and honest bred lurcher in the early ,s it was easy enough to find one,now its far more difficult to source the same.There was plenty of chancers and ego,s about then and the dross they peddled.

With the advent of the Internet this state of affairs is far more prevalent,its unbelievable the nuggets about now that are in the hunting game and care little for hunting,the same ego,s and chancers have a less hunting educated and more easily duped audience,because of the Internet,the dross bred now soon finds an home,years ago this would never have happened,to the same degree.

In reality the majority of modern bred lurchers are a pale shadow of many a mutt bred only a few decades ago,apart from the Saluki hybrids perhaps.

You only need to see the price tag of the average litter now to see the reason behind the breeding,not all.Breeding a litter and wanting them to go to hunting kennels,gratis,was commonplace years ago,its far less frequent now.There is far less honesty in hunting now and the dogs that thrive with that type of ownership,again it was far from Nirvana years ago,but we were closer to it then.

Sounds like the smell of teen spirit is long gone for you aswell then eh Morton

[jeemes 4,484]

 

 

An old boy round corner in his 70s told my missus he read in a book years ago lol mh point is tho that fools weren't invented with the internet lol and neither were shit dog men, terriers were doubled and trebled up years ago, and Lurchers were asked to kill odd bit here and there for pot. Greyhounds, horses, pigeons and chickens and everything are better thes days, or atleast the good ones among them are, I not saying there ain't more shit thes days, there may be. Today's best is better than yesteryears best tho. Or what's point in line breeding, inbreeding, or trying to keep a line??

Good point and I agree apart from possibly greyhounds,although they are undoubtedly faster I dont think they are as sound or sturdy because everything is sacrificed for speed.

I agree but I also reckon today's coursing dogs used week in week Out on big flat land are the equivalent of the greys from years ago, after all they both bred for same job before racing come into it

 

thats true